ANIMAL DOCTOR

Contrary to Myth, Cats Do Not Stalk Babies

Dear Dr. Fox:

Kindly review the attached article regarding cats and human babies. Any comments to dispel the old wives’ tale of cats smothering infants would be appreciated.

D.G.

North Palm Beach, Fla.

I cannot believe that a nationally syndicated columnist such as this pe- diatrician would write that “some cats will seek out the infants’ mouths and noses and lie on them to smother them. . . . It would be better for the baby if your daughter would rid her- self of the cats.”

Although this article that you and others sent me is undated, it comes from the Dark Ages. Its main focus of concern is toxoplasmosis, which cats can transmit to humans. But vets have ways to deal with this so that a pregnant woman doesn’t have to “rid herself of the cats.” People are more likely to get this parasite from han- dling infected meat in their kitchens and from soil while gardening.

Dear Dr. Fox:

I recently adopted a 11

⁄2

-year-old

male Shih Tzu from a rescue center. He tested negative for heartworm and has been on Heartguard ever since.

My vet wants to revaccinate him in

February, and I’ve heard there is con- troversy about whether this is neces- sary. What’s your opinion?

J.B.

Tequesta, Fla.

Because your dog received only

the one-year rabies vaccination, I would advise giving the three-year dose next time. Having a viable ra- bies vaccination is mandatory under state law. Other vaccinations are probably not needed and are best avoided. Most other vaccines (the so-called “core vaccinations”) are good for three to five years and even longer. Find another veterinarian if the one you are seeing insists on across-the- board annual booster shots. Over- vaccinating might play a major role in autoimmune disease in dogs, the in- cidence of which has increased sig- nificantly in recent years.

Dear Dr. Fox:

I recently had to have my cat euthanized. While the injection was administered, something went ter- ribly wrong: The cat cried out in pain, opened her eyes, and her tongue dropped out. To see my pet suffer like this was devastating. What went wrong?

I.R.

P.B. Gardens, Ill.

Cats and dogs can react in dis- tressing ways to the intravenous drugs used for euthanasia. More of- ten, they simply pant briefly, give a deep sigh and stop breathing. But there’s no way of predicting an ani- mal’s reaction, and that is why many veterinarians don’t allow owners to be present at the time of injection. Or the vet gives a pre-euthanasia seda- tive.

In old and weak animals with poor circulation and hard-to-locate veins,

the process might not go as smoothly as one would hope. Some reactions, such as a final gasp, cry or moan, the tongue coming out or the animal shuddering or being startled occur when the animal is unconscious, but the heart might not have stopped yet. I believe that is what you witnessed. No one is to blame, and I doubt that your cat suffered, because she was no longer fully conscious. As a general rule, veterinarians are empathetic and endeavor to render this service at minimal emotional cost to all con- cerned, often setting a time at the end of day when the facilities will be less busy, and even performing in- home euthanasia when appropriate.

Dear Dr. Fox:

I have a 14-year-old cat named

Frankie. He had pancreatitis diag- nosed about two years ago after weight loss and vomiting. Our vet put him on a limited diet of duck and peas, and he has stabilized some- what. We’ve been giving him B12 shots once a week and Pancreatic Plus that I crush up and put in his food. He seems happy, but the vom- iting continues. For the most part, he vomits several times a day. Do you think the diet is helping or

awaste of time? What else can we do for this poor cat?

J.C.

Landover

Your cat must indeed be treated to

a change in diet, because hypersensi- tivity to one or more ingredients is more than likely. I guarantee there’s more than just duck and peas in the

District Postings

CRIME REPORT, From Page 10

gunman robbed a male pedestrian of a cell- phone, then fled in a vehicle with a male accom- plice.

SEVENTH ST., 700 block, 2:38 to 2:39 p.m. July 6. As a male was leaving a fast-food res- taurant, a male demanded his iPhone. The male refused. Another male put him in a choke- hold. The male gave up his iPhone. The robbers fled.

NINTH AND BARNABY STREETS, 5:20 p.m.

July 5. A male robbed a female at a bus stop of a purse.

25TH ST., 2300 block, 2 to 2:05 p.m. July 7. A male robbed a male pedestrian of property. 35TH AND A STREETS, 1:20 a.m. July 4. A male assaulted and tried to rob a male pedestri- an.

36TH ST., 2300 block, 3 p.m. July 7. Two males assaulted and robbed a male at a resi- dence. 46TH ST., 1-99 block, 9:30 a.m. July 4. A gun- man robbed a female pedestrian of a wallet, then fled with an accomplice.

THEFTS/BREAK-INS

ASTOR PL., 5000 block, 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. July 3. Property was stolen from a resi- dence entered by forcing open a rear door. BARNABY ST., 800 block, 5:30 a.m. July 7. A male entered a residence by kicking a front door.

BRUCE ST., 1400 block, 2:30 to 11 p.m. July 5. Clothes were stolen from a residence. GST., 1600 block, 2 to 9:40 a.m. July 5. A ve- hicle and other property were stolen from a resi- dence.

GOOD HOPE CT., 2300 block, 4 to 4:12 p.m. July 6. Property was stolen from an apartment entered by forcing open a front door. INDEPENDENCE AVE., 1500 block, noon to 12:25 p.m. July 7. A male entered a residence by kicking a front door, then fled when he was confronted by a resident. JASPER RD., 2800 block, 1:15 to 9:30 p.m. July 3. Property was stolen from an apartment entered by forcing open a front door. MISSISSIPPI AVE., 600 block, 8:41 a.m. July 3 to 10:44 a.m. July 4. Property was stolen from a school entered by breaking a rear window. STANTON RD., 3000 block, 1 p.m. July 3. A residence was entered by breaking a kitchen window. TALBERT ST., 1200 block, 4 p.m. June 28 to 2:30 p.m. July 4. A residence was entered by breaking a rear window. TALBERT ST., 1200 block, 12:30 p.m. July 4. Coins were stolen from a residence. TRENTON PL., 1700 block, 5 p.m. July 4 to 2:09 a.m. July 5. Property was stolen from a building entered by removing an air conditioner from a window. YUMA ST., 800 block, 5:25 p.m. July 5. A male entered a residence through an unlocked win- dow and assaulted two residents.

FOURTH ST., 3400 block, 10:30 p.m. July 5. A male intruder entered a school. An arrest was made.

SIXTH ST., 100 block, 8 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. July 6. Property was stolen from an apartment en- tered by forcing open a front door. 15TH ST., 3400 block, 3:30 p.m. July 7. Prop- erty was stolen from a building entered through a rear door. 18TH ST., 3500 block, midnight to 6:45 a.m. July 4. Property was stolen from a residence en- tered by forcing open a front door.

»Southwest

ROBBERIES

INDEPENDENCE AVE., 1300 block, 9:45 to 10 p.m. July 4. A male tripped over a female’s baby stroller as she crossed a street. A wallet was taken from her pocket. MST., 200 block, 1:50 a.m. July 8. As a male walked past a group of males, one showed a handgun and ran toward him demanding proper- ty. An arrest was made.

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. AVE., 3900 block,

5:15 p.m. July 7. A male woke up at a residence and saw a gunman, who demanded keys to a scooter. The male refused to comply, and the gunman fled.

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. AVE., 4600 block,

10:12 to 10:15 a.m. July 7. A gunman wearing a mask and gloves grabbed a female and de-

manded property. She complied, and he fled.

THEFTS/BREAK-INS

EST., 300 block, 2:30 p.m. July 6 to 6:30 a.m. July 7. A storage shed at a construction site was pried open, and property was stolen. GALVESTON PL., 1-99 block, 5:15 to 5:30

District of Columbia’s

PET SPOTLIGHT

p.m. July 5. Two males entered an unlocked sec- ond-story window of a residence and took prop- erty.

MAINE AVE., 1300 block, 2 p.m. June 20 to 4 p.m. July 3. A canopy was stolen from a vessel.

— Compiled by TAMIKA L. GITTENS and TIMOTHY WILSON

PRECIOUS PETS

THURSDAY, JULY 16, 2009

PET SPOTLIGHT

Thank you for taking care of me all day; even through the hurdles you’re always there for me. I love you Grandma Gwenny! Bam Bam

preciouspets@washpost.com

formula she’s eating.

Many factors can bring on pancre- atitis, including stress, infection and fatty liver disease. Your cat needs a low-fat diet and will benefit from pro- biotics as well as the digestive en- zymes and supplements.

There are, of course, other reasons

cats vomit: fur balls in the stomach to general nausea associated with sys- temic disease, especially uremia with kidney malfunction. Many cats with pancreatitis are diabetic, often brought on by improper diet — typ- ically dry food that’s high in carbo- hydrates.

Dear Dr. Fox:

My female cat, Peaches, had inap- propriate-urination issues, similar to a male cat mentioned in a previous column. It happened about once ev- ery three months. She would become increasingly vocal and then urinate on the bed. Antibiotics seemed to clear it up.

My previous cat had repeated uri- nary tract infections that were treat- ed successfully with surgery. She had the problem in which the umbilical connection hadn’t healed completely, leaving a pouch in the bladder that collected stale urine. I finally took Peaches to a specialist, thinking that maybe she had the same problem. She did not, but the specialist pointed out that her urine was very concentrated and also noted that she was a very smart, high-energy indoor cat. It was suggested that she should have more stimulation in her envi- ronment and more fluids in her diet. I switched her over to wet food and

raw beef cubes and all but eliminated dry food. I add a couple of table- spoons of water to the wet food. I added more toys to the house and pe- riodically switch them out. During the day, I leave on a radio or one of the “Cat Sitters” DVDs. I moved the bird feeder so it is near the window next to the cat tree.

It has been nine months, and she has had no further problems. As a side benefit, my overstuffed male cat has lost a pound or so because he doesn’t have access to dry food 24 hours a day. Peaches does get a little dry food to help keep the teeth clean; the beef cubes are said to do the same thing.

J.O.

Winston-Salem, N.C.

Your letter should help persuade other cat owners to feed their cats what I have been recommending for some years in this column.

The domestic cat’s lineage goes back to the desert cat Felis lybica, and its desert-associated physiology means a poor thirst mechanism. This means that many cats on dry food don’t drink sufficient fluids and can suffer in many ways, cystitis from concentrated urine being one.

Michael W. Fox, author of a newsletter and books on animal care, welfare and rights, is a veterinarian with doctoral degrees in medicine and animal behavior. Write to him at United Feature Syndicate, 200 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016.

Copyright 2009 United Feature Syndicate Inc.

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